Construction & Real Estate
Gulf construction feels heat of supply shortages
The Gulf’s booming construction industry is feeling the heat of soaring materials costs and labour shortages amid concern that supply pressures coud delay the completion of projects.
The economy minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), whose construction and real estate sectors contributed 23 percent of the economic output in 2007, has warned that supply constraints might slow construction in the area.
Barwa launches real estate bank at QR1 billion
The Ministry of Economy and Trade has officially approved to set up the Barwa Real Estate Bank as a private Qatari shareholding company dedicated to real estate finance, housing, banking and business finance and investment, and social services.
Spain’s troubled Colonial to open books to Dubai suitor
Spain’s second-largest property firm, Colonial, said it had agreed to open its books to a company owned by the government of Dubai which has approached it about a possible takeover.
The announcement came just 10 days after US conglomerate General Electric said it was mulling an offer for Colonial, whose share price has slumped recently due to concerns over its financial health.
News Analysis: GCC property boom shows no sign of slowing
It is a maxim of the property industry worldwide that a bust, or at least a significant downturn, follows a boom as surely as autumn follows summer. But the current Middle Eastern boom, firmly focused on Dubai, shows no indication of undergoing a downturn.
Fears that falling real estate prices in some Western economies in the wake of the US sub-prime mortgage crash could affect confidence in the Middle Eastern region have so far proven to be unfounded.
News Analysis: Materials shortage shadows Dubai building boom
Dubai is facing a sharp slowdown in its building frenzy as the soaring cost of raw material causes developers to run over budget. With work on many projects grinding to a halt, some recent reports are nothing short of alarming.
Rakaa Properties, a Saudi-owned developer active in the UAE, said in January that fourty percent of Dubai’s estimated US$400 billion worth of projects in development – a figure some say is closer to US$1 trillion – are temporarily suspended due to the escalating cost of core construction materials.
ICD says offers 1.85 euros/share for Spain’s Colonial
Sovereign wealth fund Investment Corporation of Dubai said it was interested in buying at least 50.1 percent of Spanish real estate firm Colonial in an offer.
The offer price would be paid in either cash or financial instruments issued by ICD, the fund said, and would be subject to the approval of creditor banks.